[Run time: 5:43 min.] This is a pretty good video. If you’re in business and in a position to make decisions about facilities, etc., this is a good idea generator. In fact, that’s what Jetson Green is all about: generating ideas for application in a new setting. Here’s Patagonia‘s Mission Statement: "Build the best product, do no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis." This is a good company, working to make a difference in business. The video covers the following: (1) managing storm-water runoff, (2) landscape and exterior design, (3) water and energy efficiency, (4) construction materials, and (5) green housekeeping, alternative transportation, and recycling. Note also that Patagonia supports 1% for the Planet. Via.

3/5/2007 – Update: Just noticed a new press release today stating that Patagonia received the LEED Gold level certification, an even more prestigious accomplishment than the Silver.

[Run time: 54:30 min.] I was reading the Scobleizer and found a fairly substantial video interview with Toby Long, founder of the San Francisco-based, design-build firm CleverHomes. Cleverhomes is one of those companies swimming upstream in a construction river of anti-progress, anti-innovation, and staunch traditionalism. I love the Scoble laugh, seriously, it makes the interview pretty good. Long talks about the interface of technology + construction, or what I’m calling Construction 2.0, with an added dimension of sustainability. Going forward, the environmental consequences associated with construction need to be figured into a given project’s analysis. He also mentions structural insulated panels (SIPs), building information modeling (BIM), sustainability, and modern vernacular. Get past the beginning and give it go…

[Run time = about 10 min.] "You inevitably have to think about the consequences of what you do. What I’m doing could effect someone I’ve never met and never will, and maybe even isn’t even alive yet. If you look at it that way, then you really have to approach everything you do with more respect: the materials you use, the people you work with, what is the life of this thing, and where is it going…" – Lance Hosey, William McDonough + Partners

[Runtime = 4:13 min.] I wanted to include this video within my post, but E&ETV disabled the embed function, so head over to Youtube this jolly Christmas eve to watch a good primer on green skysrapers. With modern skyscrapers, everyone is focused on sustainable, energy-efficient structures. These days, most skyscraper design integrates LEED, as an overlay to the rest of the design process. The video narrative goes through some of the most popular green skyscrapers, such as World Trade Center Complex, Hearst Tower, and Bank of America Tower.

Recently, I blogged about Jennifer Siegal and Office of Mobile Design (OMD) and wanted follow up because I found this video of her Venice, California show house. It’s a short, 2-minute video packed with modern + green information and mentions the following products: Japanese recycled grass board called "Kirei" (Japanese for pretty or beautiful), radiant heating ceiling panels called "People Heaters," the in-wall iPod sound system called iPort, energy-efficient appliances by Sub-zero, a tank-less water heater, and industrial-grade flooring in the bathroom to withstand heavy use. Take a look at some of these products if you’re doing a renovation and enjoy the video if you’re interested in modern + green prefab.

Introducing "Grey to Green." It’s a snippet from the Design: e2 series narrated by Brad Pitt. We need a paradigm shift in the methods we employ to construct US buildings! Watch this video on construction waste and think about the status quo. Did you know that American buildings account for 10% of the world’s energy use? They do.

Part of the draw to modern prefab, for me, is that it presents the opportunity to efficiently, and relatively wastelessly, produce attractive, sustainable living spaces. That’s very important. Technology and process innovation can help us quit wasting energy, supplies, and materials, etc. Construction waste is not only damaging the earth, but by continuing on the current path, we’re just throwing money away (both at purchase and trash points). We need to understand the issues and find creative, innovative, positive, and attractive solutions.

This video is extremely informative, and you can order the PBS series DVD from their website for $29.95. The DVD includes all six episodes (The Green Apple, Green for All, The Green Machine, Gray to Green, China: From Red to Green, + Deeper Shades of Green). I can’t catch it on TV, so I’m going to go ahead and purchase it. Really, watch the video and you’ll realize why it looks to be a good series.